Global bulk material handling systems manufacturer, Flexicon, has introduced its latest Pneumati-Con dilute phase vacuum conveying system, designed to facilitate dust-free manual dumping and the conveying of materials from small bags or sacks.
Pneumatic conveyors feed multiple ingredients long-distances into mixers for batching and blending systems enabling precise formulations and consistent product quality, ideal for the food and beverage industry.
The bag dumping station is mounted on an access platform constructed of carbon steel. The stainless-steel hopper is equipped with a dust hood that features a glove box. Using the gloves, the operator pulls bags of material from an adjacent table through an opening in the hood’s sidewall and onto a grate. Each bag is opened and emptied without any material contacting the operator’s skin. The emptied bags are then passed through the opposite side wall opening into a bag compactor, maintaining a clean workflow.
Dust generated from bag dumping, empty bag disposal, and bag compaction is drawn away from the operator and onto the system’s two cartridge filters. Automatic reverse-pulse air nozzles release short blasts of compressed air inside the filters at timed intervals, causing dust build-up on the outer surfaces to fall into the hopper, conserving usable product. Filters are readily accessed by removing the interior baffle and can be replaced using quick-disconnect fittings.
The compactor uses a cylinder capable of compressing up to 80 bags into a removable bin. The compactor’s main door and flapper door connecting the dust hood with the compactor are equipped with safety interlocks that prevent operation of the compactor unless both doors are closed.
A handheld pickup wand is used to completely or partially empty drums, boxes or other containers. Operators standing at floor level hold the wand, which is plumbed to the conveying line via a flexible hose, against the surface of the material inside the container. The hose is constructed of clear PVC with a static conductive wire and is compliant with regulations for handling dry food and pharmaceutical materials.
The lines from both the wand and the bag dumping station converge at a two-way diverter valve, which directs the flow of material from either source to the filter receiver. The filter receiver is typically mounted above a material use point and separates solids from the airstream using filter media and gravity. A rotary airlock valve at the base of the filter receiver meters the material into the receiving vessel. Similar to the bag dumping station, the filter receiver features reverse-pulse jet filter cleaning to dislodge accumulated particles from the filter surfaces.
All conveying lines can be routed vertically and in any horizontal direction. They can also pass through openings in walls or ceilings. This flexibility ensures that the system can adapt to various facility layouts and operational requirements, making it a versatile solution for material handling.
Flexicon operates manufacturing facilities on four continents, including one in Queensland, and provides factory-direct representation worldwide. More information on the Pneumati-Con and the company’s other solutions can be found at flexicon.com.
